Looking for beginner DJ equipment

[Quay]

belt-drive turntables, mixer, and headphones...my budget is about $1000 for now. I plan on building my own deck. I went on amazon and poked around for a bit,saw a starter kit or 2, but I figured I'd better ask before I purchase something I'm not happy with.

I'm not really sure what I should be looking for at this point,; Google has not been my best friend.

Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead!

 

[INTP]

doesent djs use direct-drive instead belt-drive turntables? dunno if there is some belt-drive turntables that you can use for djing, but every one of those that i have seen doesent fit to that purpose at all. you should look for used equipment and you can get reasonably good equipment(at least the turntables) for that price easily, including good headphones. you dont benefit anything with buying new turntables(technology is pretty much the same nowadays than it was in the 80's and 90's, just get a new needle if you dont buy the tables from someone who bought good ones already), unless you spend like few K$ on each turntable. buying the turntables new you just spend alot on crappy stuff, you could get 5 times better for half the price when buying used. you should look for some audiophile forums to ask for what equipment you should get and look for some trusted users to buy the equipment from

 

[Quay]

doesent djs use direct-drive instead belt-drive turntables? dunno if there is some belt-drive turntables that you can use for djing, but every one of those that i have seen doesent fit to that purpose at all. you should look for used equipment and you can get reasonably good equipment(at least the turntables) for that price easily, including good headphones. you dont benefit anything with buying new turntables(technology is pretty much the same nowadays than it was in the 80's and 90's, just get a new needle if you dont buy the tables from someone who bought good ones already), unless you spend like few K$ on each turntable. buying the turntables new you just spend alot on crappy stuff, you could get 5 times better for half the price when buying used. you should look for some audiophile forums to ask for what equipment you should get and look for some trusted users to buy the equipment from

Cool thanks. I see what you are saying about the direct drive turntables, I will look for these instead. I was talking to some guys who've been spinning a while and they were talking about how they learned on the belt-drives. But then these are hip-hop guys and I'm strictly house/some techno.

Thanks for the used equipment idea too. I was pricing some new Technics and my jaw dropped. Stantons were far more reasonably priced, but I'm still gonna go used either way.

I will poke around on the audiophile sites like you suggested. Thanks a bunch.

 

[slowriot]

never go belt drive. I have some old stantons they are okay for beginners, but once you get better, you need some better equipment. You might not think at first that quality is anything but once you are out djing good equipment is essential especially when it comes to mixers, they take a hard beating. And look into a laptop/turntable setup like that of Traktor. Its so much better to work with than having to bring vinylbags everywhere.

And yes, headphones are essential, look for some that are sturdy and closed. Dont buy those cheap white sennheisers you need to pay a bit more for good ones. Look for the quality of the plastic and in the hinges.

 

[Quay]

Thanks...

Do you currently use Traktor? If so (besides not having to lug vinyl everywhere), what are the benefits for you? How much different is the feel from pulling and cueing records?

 

[slowriot]

never tried it myself, I stopped dj'ing a few years ago. Now its just an on/off activity for me. I know quite a few dj's that swear to it though. Supposedly its basically the same feeling as playing on vinyl, instead you only have to have two 12"'s with you and all the music is stored on the laptop. There's a converter box though, but its rather small.

 

[Quay]

*Never mind!* found everything I was looking for! Thanks a lot *